Discord
Fierce As with all Great Things in TLDR history, our story begins with WoW. Discord was first used for the TLDR-led 2015 Kronos reroll, though it was met with resistance initially as people were using Mumble and were sceptical about changing platforms. Luckily, NeverGuess , who was a Discord early adopter due to some other games, also owned the Mumble server so he just stopped paying for it and got people to switch forcefully. On the bright side, most of the people who wanted to stay on Mumble were non-TLDRs, and most TLDRs supported the switch, especially Stupidwalrus . Initial TLDR Adoption Attempt Despite the WoW-playing TLDRs using Discord, it wasn't actually adopted by the Skype chat group until much later. Although the purpose of the Discord server was initially for the Fierce members, NeverGuess on one occasion after it's establishment attempted to direct the Skype chatters into the Fierce discord and rebrand slightly, adding a TLDR-only chat channel and TLDR group ranks. While seeing some initial use, particularly by Vasselino and his podcast fans, the TLDR chat channel wasn't really used, and people preferred to continue using Skype chat. This was likely attributed to people feeling strange seeing all these non-TLDR members in the Discord, making it never actually feel like a true TLDR server. However, between 2015 and 2017, TLDRs started using the voice chat channels more and more as they gamed together in games like DotA 2 and Overwatch, This, along with TLDRs in general becoming introduced to Discord from other social circles as the Internet at large slowly adapted to it, would eventually ease the final transition. The End of Skype Recently returning from a year-long TLDR hiatus to focus on his studies, NeverGuess came back to the Skype chat. Still riddled with bugs and downtimes, messages sent in reverse chronological order, Skype chat was still very much a piece of shit, and activity wasn't what it used to be. A couple months after his return, NeverGuess, prompted by Josh as well as some other Discord supporters, created a new Discord server meant to replace the original Skype chat. With the combination of Skype being shitty, people being more familiar with Discord over the past 2 years, and an actual Discord meant solely for ~rs, the planets had finally become aligned and the chatters were ready for the change. After years of using Skype, TLDR finally transitioned to Discord in June of 2017. The surge of all the Skype chatters migrating and discovering new features they never knew they needed created an energetic first few days. Reactions, custom emotes, custom user groups/colors, voice channels, specific text channels, all of these eased the transition. The soothing waves of the Music bots calmed down the few flustered by the change. Activity spiked to levels not seen in a very long time, eventually surpassing that of peak Skype days. NeverGuess granted adminship to all current TLDR admins, as well as handing privileges to a few other users who were seen as level-headed and wanted to assist with roles and emotes (such as Muert). trying to use his brain but not doing a very good job.]] Everything seemed primed for a TLDR Chatting renaissance. But it was not yet to be... The Floodgates Things seemed to continue as normal for a while, the Skype chat clique enjoying this immensely more well coded program, especially the gamers, as Discord was a lot more gamer-focused. NeverGuess posted the Discord invite link on the forum, with the interest of catching any potential chatters who missed the initial switch in the Skype chat, as there were intermittent Goodbye messages in their that would knock the invite link away in Skype. Despite there having been a Skype chat open link on the forum all this time, new members into the Skype chat was extremely rare. However, this was not the case for Discord. Whether it was because of the fresh start and hype posting on the forum, or because a lot of the people who hadn't been using Skype anymore had instead been using Discord, the new Discord server saw a lot of new faces. Not all of the new members were well received, however. Tiz was one of the first non-Skype Cliquers to join, and started causing some trouble. After that, Baller Status and Zoo, two posters with already not-so-great reputations, joined the Discord server and instantly started ruffling feathers. Between Baller Status attacking Shelby and Zoo drunkenly lashing out at random people, certain members started to feel concerned that the Discord was open to anyone with an invite link instead of just being a software update to the Skype clique. And things were about to get a whole lot worse... Umbi Invasion Before the question of whether or not anyone who is a TLDR should be allowed to join was answered, Discord was plunged straight into another crisis when Saelene sent out an invite to the Discord to some of her Umbi friends. Initially, 3 Umbi posters joined; Dylbro, Aldomatica, and No Care. Before long, their incessant chatter began overrunning the Discord server. Certain members of the community began to feel uncomfortable and felt like they couldn't talk as openly, essentially censoring themselves. This led to a few of them returning back to Skype, and people began to feel sour about the Discord server being open to everyone. A bit after the initial invasion, Baller Status was banned from the server, setting a precedent that people could be kicked/banned if they disturbed the community too much. With Baller as an example, people began discussing whether the Umbis should be kicked for altering the climate and essentially taking over the chat. This led to extensive discussion in Skype chat between two sides: # Those who wanted an open Discord and to give the Umbis a chance, namely Saelene, LJ, Qwee, and Senbugger # Those who wanted the TLDR Discord to only be for TLDRs and thought that "opening the floodgates" was a mistake, with only really Lurks being outspoken about it, the rest only commenting rarely While both sides agreed that the Umbis shouldn't have been added without the Discord server being asked first, they couldn't agree on what to do now. It's likely that a large number of people on the "pro-Umbi" side of the fence were just scared to cross Saelene and be called a nerd. During this time, Senbugger, hearing tales of this new Discord server from the Umbi posters in the Umbi whatsapp, returned to the community and joined Discord. Senbugger immediately joined the cause of the Umbis, and aggressively began berating anyone who was on the pro-closed borders side. The question began polarizing certain people, eventually leading to certain core chatters outright boycotting Discord and only using Skype. With things looking grim for the community, and wanting to avoid a cross-platform split, NeverGuess decided it was time to act. Dylan the Albanian had recently asked on the forum if anyone minded if he banned the Umbis. With no objection from anyone (because no one actually knew he had that power but that's a different story), NeverGuess handed moderator to Dylan, who was immune to possibly being hunted IRL and killed by Saelene, and could easily be demodded, and let him do the dirty work. And with that, the Umbis were banned. Immediately after, those boycotting Discord returned and several were saying how the Discord climate had instantly changed for the better after the Umbi removal. Despite that, not everyone was pleased, and soon an outcry for an open Discord began... Eye of the Storm With the banning of the Umbis as well as some other unsavoury TLDR members, people began to question whether or not forsaking the sacred No Ban Rule of the TLDR was the proper thing to do for Discord. Some were upset that Dylan did it abruptly without asking anyone, stating that it was executed poorly and asking for him to have his powers removed. Others held positions that seemingly contradicted themselves, many simply were posturing. Invites were closed off to try to calm those who wanted to close the floodgates. Those who wanted an open Discord started becoming more vocal, and NeverGuess' decision was criticised. Dylan the Albanian has his powers removed in an attempt to appease those upset by the Umbi ban. Before long, the sealed off TLDR Discord went back into disarray and drama, the matter never fully being dropped due to Saelene ceaselessly bringing up the topic of when the Umbis would be unbanned. Spam sessions were frequent in this period by those who were upset the Umbis were banned, and several posters, particularly those pro-Isolation, went back to Skype to complain about the drama. As the discussions seemed to become more pro-Umbi and anti-Rules, NeverGuess, responding to criticism from the vocal pro-Umbi faction, referred to a silent majority that felt more comfortable with a sealed off community, but was mostly too afraid to speak up. Others, such as Muertimus, also felt this was the case, while others like Qwee and LJ could not sense it, and accused NeverGuess of making it up to further his own goals, or just calling those that didn't speak out "betas". Senbugger also continued to complain about Umbi exclusion. Eager to bring an end to the drama and to bring the community back together, as well as prove that what he sensed was correct, NeverGuess created a poll to gauge the opinions of the Discord community. The Poll The poll was aimed to gauge what various posters thought the rules of chat invites should be, and how strongly they felt about their choice. In parallel, NeverGuess created a High Council of trusted Discord chatters that didn't necessarily always see eye-to-eye, and in particular had different opinions on the rules of the Discord but were level-headed. This council would be able to see the results of the poll and verify them (also so that there was no outcry of NeverGuess rigging it), and furthermore had full administration rights on the server, it composed of NG, SW, Qwee, and Muert. The results finally came in, and it seemed the majority of posters really did prefer having the Discord locked down and new members restricted, with the possibility of re-adding them down the line, though the length of waiting time differed from poster to poster, ranging from a week to months. Regardless of the details, the majority had spoken (but not literally) and things were expected to settle down. Atlantis (Late July 2017) Unfortunately, this was not the case. The pro-Umbi, anti-Ban crowd continued to stir shit in the chat, some of them asking for the names of these people that voted to close off the Discord (while the results were public, the names were not). On top of this, Saelene started asking when the Umbis could be reintroduced once more. In essence, the poll had done nothing to silence the vocal pro-Umbi crowd and the Discord once again spiralled into shit. Sometime during this, Dylan and NeverGuess got the idea to make a public Discord server, separate from TLDR, but open to TLDR chatters, Umbis and with Dylan's assistance, the OT:C posters. The idea would be that it would be a open Discord community that would start off with a mix of these three communities and eventually grow as new members would be recruited (like some of the ones NeverGuess added to the TLDR server but were eventually booted). The server, named Atlantis, was created. The new server was posted in the TLDR server and users were informed that there would be no rules on who could join. NeverGuess saw this as an opportunity to offer both sides what they wanted, with the old server becoming TLDR-only, and untouched, and a new server being created that had to start from scratch, it's activity solely the responsibility of those who clamoured for an open Discord server so much. On top of NeverGuess and Dylan the Albanian as admin, Josh was also admined to assist with setting up the server and handling roles, as well as Dylbro to represent and assist the Umbis. Activity picked up in the new server, offering more shit-flinging opportunities from both sides, as well as introducing more Umbis and OT:C posters to the mix. Soon people began joining the voice channel and listened to LJ and Daniel debate, as well as other wacky things. Posters such as Senbugger championed the new Discord, supporting an open Discord with no rules where his Umbi friends could chat away. The larger amount of users in Atlantis eventually led to that server becoming more active, and certain posters, despite claiming to want a TLDR-only server, seemed to take more of a liking to some of the new Umbi posters. New Umbi posters like Susie aka SSJ joined, and were well liked by TLDR posters. Eventually the TLDR-only server started slowing down. Those supporting a TLDR-only server were not ready to give up yet, however. The Purge Despite the initial success of Atlantis in the first few hours, some immediately complained about the new server, feeling like the community was being split, and that the wishes of the majority were ignored for the "vocal minority" that wanted an open Discord. Several members outright decided to boycott Atlantis and only post on the TLDR-only server. Furthermore, some users felt like not only were they betrayed by this new open server becoming the center of attention, but that the old TLDR-only server also continued to lack the comfortability of the old TLDR skype chat, owing to the fact that several TLDR, yet non-OG Skype members were still in that chat. Seeing that it was only fair that with the success of Atlantis, those wanting a more "safe place" should have it, NeverGuess purged several users that were in the TLDR-only Discord but were not in the original TLDR Skype chat, and more particularly were causing discomfort and had been requested to be banned namely Zoo and Bluebones. During this purge, NeverGuess also removed Senbugger, feeling that he was an overall negative influence on the community, both to his toxic badgering of people who wanted a safe place, as well as general behaviour overall. As Senbugger wasn't part of the Skype chat either, NeverGuess hoped that the ban would be relatively ignored. Despite this, NeverGuess was not able to sneak past the banning of Senbugger passed some of his supporters. An outcry began from some posters to unban him, despite them being perfectly capable of speaking to him on Atlantis. After much clamouring to get him unbanned by certain users, particularly Muert, Senbugger was unbanned and re-invited to the TLDR-only server. Attack on Atlantis Concurrently, the immensely anticipated Burning Crusade/Gummycraft reroll was cancelled as the server received a cease and desist only a couple hours into release. Posters had been preparing to play together on the server for months, and as a result, all the autism amassed in preparation to level 1-70 now had nowhere to be released. It would later be theorised that these autism reserves were used to perpetuate the already dragged out drama even further as countless posters turned back to the Discord chats in frustration. Several days passed, yet some users were still upset that the activity shifted to Atlantis and that they now had to switch to a server that had "no rules" and opened floodgates, as well as having Dylan the Albanian as admin. In response, they took to spamming the Discord server to show people what "no rules" would result in. Dylan attempted to stop the spammers, telling them this wasn't a TLDR-only server and they couldn't just spam like that. Feeling that Atlantis was merely a continuation of TLDR, and that their sacred TLDR right to spam was being threatened, as well as feeling like they were being policed by Dylan, who they still felt should not have power after his banning of the Umbis, Qwee, Muert and SW started spamming even more. Seeing this spam as a figurative spit in the face, Dylan grew annoyed and decided to ban Muert, SW, and Qwee. The Discord calmed down, but outcries on the TLDR-only server to have Dylan de-admined began immediately, and soon after his adminship on Atlantis was removed, and Muert, SW and Qwee were unbanned. Sodom Feeling vindicated with the results of their spam, more spamming ensued on Atlantis. Many spammed to prove that the "no rules/open floodgates" server was a stupid idea, some spammed to piss of the Umbis who were already rustled from the initial spamming, unfamiliar with TLDR customs. Some spammed to remind everyone that spamming was a part of TLDR tradition, and some spammed just because everyone else was. The spamming eventually drove out certain posters hopeful of an inter-forum community, namely the few OT:C posters that didn't post on the TLDR that had come to check it out, as well as some other Umbi posters. Some TLDR posters, also hopeful that the server was the end to the rollercoaster of drama that had been going on in Discord since the Umbis were added orginally, were also soured by the ceaseless spamming and took a hiatus. Seeing as the original idea was dead, and the server devolved back into toxicity, the server name was changed from Atlantis to Sodom, the name being prompted by an off-hand comment by Byung. With the server now being acknowledged by all as a continuation of the TLDR, and a true end to the enforcement of rules now that Dylan had been de-admined, the server returned back to relative peace, only seeing occasional spam waves by posters such as Lurks, who were vehemently anti-Umbi and still saw Sodom as an affront to the wishes of the majority. Lurks continued his offensive for several days, only really chatting normally on the TLDR-only server. Any suggestion by users or admins to stop spamming was met with more spamming and cries of "policing". Growing annoyed by the incessant spam fest from Lurks and some other posters, and seeing it as childish and detrimental to those who wanted to chat, Josh, who still possessed admin since the creation of Atlantis, decided to take it into his own hands. He created a #timeout channel and forced Lurks and Qwee in there, who were spamming at the time. This was met with more spamming by those who were yet to be muted as Qwee and Lurks informed them in the TLDR-only server. Several posters began to complain about there being any sort of censorship on Atlantis, which was supposed to have no rules. Others began suggestion that new administrators be made that were more level-headed and wouldn't mute users. Both Lucky and Rel asked to be made admin and fit this role to balance out the team, and they were met with some support from the rustled #NoRule'ers. NeverGuess, who had now returned from his summer break and was hoping to now focus on his thesis, decided this would be a good time to hand out responsibility to a few more people and take a small break. Granting Lucky and Rel admin, and hopeful that this would result in an end to the spam, NeverGuess prepared to depart. Unfortunately, granting admin to Rel and Lucky proved to do nothing, as people still continued to spam and complain about the previous mutings. With a lot of the core chatters becoming discontent with Atlantis and feeling forced back to the TLDR-only chat, Josh attempted to restore order. Once again, this was met with more resistance, and both Lucky and Rel did not seem to utilise their new powers to unmute users or really do anything at all. Seeing that delegating power to others wasn't working, NeverGuess finally stripped all former and new admins/mods of all power, hoping that the best solution was to have no one making any kicks/bans/mutes. He then granted ownership to an alt account and left Atlantis. Immediately after he granted ownership of the TLDR-only server to Muert, as among the original High Council, Muert seemed to have the most interest in restoring the original TLDR Skype clique. NeverGuess then left the TLDR-only Discord server as well and went on a hiatus to focus on his thesis. Over the next few days things finally settled down, both sides seemingly happy, with the pro-Sodom crowd happy that the spamming had stopped and the pro-Rules-in-TLDR-chat-but-Anti-Rules-in-Sodom-chat-crowd finally done spamming now that they had proved their "point". Certain low IQ users were confused as to why NeverGuess left and thought there was some plot happening, their brains so gorged on the drama they had been perpetuating for the past few weeks that they couldn't comprehend how it could have stopped. But it truly finally had, and the tumultuous period that started with the invitation of the Umbis ultimately came to a close. In his absence, NG began trying to figure out how to automate most Discord processes so that admins would not really be needed again, this included adding more roles that could be opted in and out of, as well as a bot that could put users in coloured user groups, which was until then the #1 reason people needed admins on. NeverGuess returned sometime later, and over time more TLDR posters who had been wary of the Discord group due to the drama that spilled onto the forum finally got around to joining. Discord finally enjoyed the peace it deserved and group activities picked up again. Long time absent posters like Noam also showed up during this period. A couple meetups occurred during this period, including Georgiacon and Boston Halloweencon. Sengate Disclaimer: The events that led up to Sengate took place over a large span of time, and as it is still recent, this period is likely not fully concluded and all the details are not yet known. Background Near the inception of Discord, NeverGuess recruited a Arab teenager who went by Bobo that he found on some WoW Private Server Discord to the TLDR Discord, in the quest to find new blood for the next generation of posters. Opinions on Bobo were mixed, with some people finding him entertaining, some finding him annoying, while some took some time before he grew on them. During this period Bobo invited one of his other teenage friends to the server named Tara. Both Bobo and Tara made some friends on the Discord server over time. One of the friends Tara made was Timtation, though how close they were was unknown at the time. Bobo eventually invited a few Discord members to his own server, which also included Tara. Among those invited was Senbugger. Bobo's server was mostly dead for months and of no concern to the TLDR until one fateful day. S-Day Eventually it was discovered by Timtation, who it revealed had grown close to Tara, that Senbugger had been hitting on Tara's friend. This sparked outrage among many Tilders, with some accusing Senbugger's behavior as predatory, and possibly illegal as Tara's friend's age was assumed to be a number below 18 (sorry guys, I'm ESL). Timtation, Sock and many other Tilders began feeling as though TLDR's lack of rules was enabling individuals they deemed dangerous. Sock left the server and several followed. Return to TLDR-only Chat With Sock and a few others leaving Sodom, the activity shifted to the previously more-or-less dead TLDR-only server, the original server used before No Rules/Open Borders was implemented. Although the majority of posters didn't leave Sodom, activity in it dwindled as core posters opted to only chat in the TLDR-only chat, where there were neither minors nor Senbugger. A few posters continued to try to keep Sodom alive, namely Choice and Noam, but aside from certain times of the day, the TLDR-only chat reigned supreme. During this time, it was revealed that Tara's friend was 18. Despite this, many still felt the actions were predatory, especially those that still harbored disdain for Senbugger's behavior at a recent meetup, as well as past forum behavior in general. Yes Rules? Seeing as the majority of users seemed to have reached a consensus on Senbugger, or at the very least didn't care enough about No Rules/Open Borders to continue supporting Sodom, Senbugger was eventually banned from Sodom. Sock was granted admin in order to implement and carry out his Yes Rules reforms, featuring banning the majority of minors and restricting new users entry into the chat without proper consensus from others, as well as attempting to keep out certain members from the community with dubious pasts. The Great TLDR Discord Christmas Server Mute of 2017 Arguably one of the most tragic events of TLDR history, only really comparing to something like the Holocaust can do justice to the horrors inflicted. Baghban TBDCategory:TLDR History